


Velvet Lies

by Deathpetal



Series: The Onyx Panthers [1]
Category: The Mercury Pack, The Phoenix Pack
Genre: Blackmail, Character Death, F/M, Gang Rape, Mates, Mating Bond, Not Beta Read, POV Female Character, POV First Person, POV Male Character, POV Multiple, Pack Politics, Post-Divorce, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slow Romance, True Mates, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-05-08 13:07:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14694849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathpetal/pseuds/Deathpetal
Summary: (Happens some years after the events of Spiral of Need.)Majken is the Alpha of her pack, The Onyx Panthers. But the panthers aren't just a normal pack, they are also military, doing the stuff the army can't admit to be doing. She wages war for her country and for shifters alike, trying to prove they have a place next to humanity. The extremists are making a major move and it falls on her to stop it. She was up to the challenge. She knew the stakes were high. She had a plan. She didn't count in finding her mate, though. When she is faced with the choice, will she choose him?Updates Slowly





	1. The meet

  
**/** Majken **/**  


Oh no he didn’t! Did he think I wasn’t going to notice? Of course he did! Well, I did notice. I was my job to find out things like that. In my kind of work you can’t be trusting of people or you will die. But stupid little me decided to trust this guy I met and marry him after a mere six months of dating. Six months! Can you believe it? Anyway, fast forward three years of an uninterested marriage and I find out that I’m not the only one keeping secrets. Mine are classified though, while his are cruel bordering on criminal. What’s worse after I apply for divorce he has the nerve to actually bug my phone! As if I’m one of his marks.

I took a couple deep breaths trying to relax. It wouldn’t do for me to meet the Alpha of the Mercury Pack with that kind of energy. I already was at a disadvantage due to being human, but being emotional too would radically diminish any chance I would ever have of him actually taking seriously what I had to say. When I had finally calmed down enough, I looked through some of the reports from our recent missions. When I was done with that I checked up on the fresh intell before starting to form a rough outline for our immediate future activities. Having one of the healers injured on the last one wasn’t exactly making my dividing them into smaller teams any easier. Well, at least he wasn’t dead. I know it’s cold thinking of them like that, but when you are planning the kind of operations I was planning you don’t have much choice. I would literally die for them and I have the scars to prove it, but at that moment I couldn’t afford to think of them as anything more than just my soldiers or I wouldn’t be able to do my job. I have to analyze their strengths and weaknesses coldly and objectively or I can’t give them their best fighting chance and our best fighting chance, well, it’s amongst the things we most need during an op.

“Ma’am, Donovan is in the conference room three with his guests.”

And they are right on time too!

“Thank you Louisa. Make sure that no-one other than me and Duke enters the room. And make sure it’s sealed for classification rank zero.”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll make sure everything is in order.”

This was it, the moment that would define the future of shifters for the years to come. You would think I was being overdramatic, but I wasn’t. Not everyone gets it, how a minor little action, a well placed whisper of a rumor, a drop of blood can change history, but then again not everyone knows how whole countries have been manipulated by a single well aimed bullet, not like I do. And because of people like me they most likely will never have to. But let’s not think about that.

The way I enter the room is important. I couldn’t show any emotional turmoil, no fear, no anger, no nervous apprehension. So I calmly stepped up to the door and I opened it smoothly. I entered without hesitation, confidently and spotted Donovan sitting behind the table facing the entrance. On his right were two men standing tense. I assumed they were the Alpha and Beta of the Mercury Pack. I hadn’t even stepped fully into the room when one of them started to speak in an annoyed and slightly condescending voice.

“No we would not like something to drink. Please let your Alpha know that we are here.”

What an ass! Assuming I was there to offer to fetch him refreshments just because he scented I’m human or because I’m female? I don’t know which is worse, but boy was he in for a big surprise! I could see Donovan visibly tensing at the man’s words. But protocol is protocol, so he stood up and greeted me with his right hand extended, palm facing up and closed into a loose fist and his tattoo exposed. I did the same placing my wrist next to his. With our wrists touching the magic in our tattoos was activated emitting a pale and faded shimmer of a glow from each tattoo, only visible to us. Both glowed white so we could continue.

“Hello Donnie! It’s been a while!”, I said with a joviality that I have never in my life been able to genuinely produce.

“Hi Em! You know the boss, always has loads of work for us to do.” Of course he would catch up to my hint and not reveal to our guests my identity just yet. He even managed to sneak in a subtle jab at me. In reality I’m not such a bad boss. Considering our line of work some could even say I was too soft, but I like to believe I am fair. “So this is Nick and Derren, the Alpha and Beta of the Mercury Pack.”

So the condescending ass was the Alpha. I hope it was just a momentary lapse of reason on his part or I don’t think we’ll be able to accomplish what we needed to.

“Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m sorry but I’m not here to ask about your beverages of choice.” I greeted them with an innocently sweet smile showing absolutely no hint of my thoughts. He should have known better than to make such hasty assumptions. One of his closest allies was assumed to be a crazy psycho by most shifters. He didn’t jump to such an assumption and was now enjoying a happy mating because of that. He really should have known better than mistakenly thinking me to be a secretary.

“Oh well. I thought you were. Regardless, do tell your Alpha that we are here.”, he replied in a more polite manner. Beside him Derren was watching the interaction with thoughtful calculation. At least one of them decided to use his brain today. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to play with poor Nick anymore, because Duke came in just in time to hear the Alpha’s last sentence. He was as annoyed by the slight made to me as Donovan was, and if they didn’t respect me and my position they would already have challenged the Alpha. As protocol calls, Donovan and I met Duke the same way I met Donovan before. Only when all three of our tattoos shimmered white did we greet each other and continue. Both of our guest wolves were confused at the exchange, not being able to neither see the glow nor understand why we greet each other like that. The Alpha was quick to mask his confusion and greet Duke, so he must have some wits on him after all.

“Hello Alpha. I am Nick Axton, Alpha of the Mercury Pack, and this is my Beta Derren Hudson.”, he addressed Duke in a formal manner disguising any annoyance I, the pesky secretary, may have caused him so far.

“Hello. I am Majken and this is Duke. Please do sit so we can begin. Donovan, Elle is excited to see you, why don’t you go visit her in the lab? And while you are there take a look at the computer, there’s something there you need to see.”, I had been developing a new virus that I know Donovan would love. When I am finished with it, it should be able to infect whole networks of computers and leave no trace of ever being there, all the while listening for certain pieces of information and transmitting it back to me. It’s a masterpiece of code, even if I do say so myself.

“Yes ma’am. See you later Nick, Duke, Derren.”

Derren looked confused by Donovan’s obedience to my command. Nick, on the other hand, chose to completely ignore it, put me to my place and get the meeting started. If nothing else, I have to admire the guy’s straightforwardness. There aren’t many people with his rank who would risk angering an Alpha and severing a future alliance with a pack, just to cut to the chase. I would have expected him to be more political. I had to skirt around red tape, classified info and politics. It was refreshing to talk to someone that didn’t, someone that would call everything by its name and wouldn’t hide words between the lines for me to decipher. It is a shame, really, that he had to go and ruin it by being a condescending ass.

“Look _Majken_ , as much as I would like to find your little display cute I was talking to your Alpha. We have things to discuss and I have things to do, so why don’t you leave us alone?”

By the end of that sentence Duke was growling and trembling with the effort to restrain himself from attacking the Alpha, which in result had both the Alpha and his Beta adopting a defensive posture. This meeting couldn’t have started worse. This guy was going to mess with my plans and get himself killed in the process.

“Duke step back and calm down.”, It was a testament to his self-control that he managed to do so, as soon as I told him. “You too boys. I don’t have all day.”

After a couple of moments they calmed down enough for all of us to sit down on the table. We sat so that I was facing Nick and Duke was facing Derren. They may have been calm enough to talk without tearing each other’s throats out, but still there was high tension clouting the air.

“I believe proper introductions are in order before you cross a line you can’t uncross, Alpha. I am Majken, the Alpha of this pack. This is Duke, my Beta.”

“I am sorry for assuming. It’s not that often that humans get to hold such positions, but I shouldn’t have assumed.”, he backtracked with caution.

“You are right, you shouldn’t have. Anyway, apology accepted. We have a lot to discuss and I am sure you are curious to know why you are here.”

“Wouldn’t you rather wait for your mate to arrive before we begin?”, it was Derren this time. He was showing my wedding ring as if to explain why he thought I was mated. Why do these guys assume so much? Besides, even if I was mated to the Alpha, why were they so sure that my mate would be even attending the meeting.

“No. I am not mated. I earned my title as the Alpha. Yes, I am married, but my husband is not part of the pack. I see that you are confused. I can’t tell you much and we have already wasted enough time, so just believe me when I say that we are a very particular pack and let us continue to the reason we are here.”, I spat out as fast and calm as I could, trying to answer their questions before they even asked them. I didn’t have much time and I wasn’t wasting it explaining things that they had no clearance of knowing about.

“Alright. You got us here. So what is it that you want?”

“As I have mentioned we are a different pack than what you would consider normal. As such we have made a lot of enemies, some inevitably happen to be extremists. They have decided to target me specifically and have managed to find out my identity. I don’t know how much they do know, but I assume that they will run extensive background checks on me and try to find any shifters that are connected to me.”

“So? Why did you have Donovan bring us here?”, good, the Alpha was starting to use his brain.

“Because you were the ally of Rhett’s pack that I could most easily get in touch with. All I had to do was ask Donovan to call you. As I said they will run checks on all the people I know, and he is the most obvious shifter link that I have.”

“You want to tell me they are after Rhett? Rhett of the Phoenix pack?”, was that a protective edge in his voice? It seems to me these packs are more than just allies. I had to find out what was going on between them and soon.

“It’s the only logical assumption that, if they are looking for shifters that have a connection with me, they’ll find and target him first. I owe it to him as a friend to warn him. So I need you to tell him to lay low and to warn his pack so they can be on guard.”

“Consider it done. Want to give me some details on who those coming after him are?”

“I can’t. Not now. I was going to suggest we arrange a meeting with the Phoenix Pack to give them the details on who they are. It’s too dangerous to do it any other way. Well, this concludes our meeting. Talk with Alpha Coleman and tell Donovan the when and where. As a show of good faith I will not be bringing any other member of my pack with me. When you are ready Duke will escort you out.” I said with finality. I knew this last part was totally a show of power, but I couldn’t help it, the Alpha had kind of pissed me off a little with all his assuming this and that. At least everything was going according to plan. Let’s see how this two packs wanted to play it. Of course they wanted more, but I didn’t leave them room to expand on the subject as I left the room.

Putting the meeting behind me, I focused on my job. I went over more mission reports and I went over the intell we had gathered, before I was finally able to finalize a plan of action. I had them all brought to the main conference room and told them the plan for our next mission. I got their feedback and made some minor adjustments before I ended the meeting and ordering everyone to get ready. Only Duke and Donovan stayed behind, each one clearly wanting to talk to me. I was pleasantly surprised when Donovan told me that the Packs wanted to meet me tomorrow and that Axton would meet me here to take me to the meeting place. Either they were anxious to find out more or they thought they could torture some answers out of me. Whatever, I just hope they meet my requests. Derren of course kept pestering me about wanting to come for the rest of the day. I agreed with him on mostly all of the arguments he made trying to convince me otherwise, but the truth remained that they couldn’t get involved any more than they already were, so my answer still remained the same; “No, I’ll go alone.”. Of course I told them I was doing so “as a show of good faith”, but did he really think I was stupid enough to endanger myself and the pack just to not hurt some wolves’ feelings? I hope not. He knows there are too much at stake, far more than Rhett and his pack’s safety.


	2. Protecting her

**/** Dominic **/**

Trey was furious. How couldn’t he be? Who did this stray Alpha think she is to make such outrageous demands? Both Rhett and Nick were in favour of doing as she said. Rhett I get why he would say that, they were good friends apparently and he had to trust her, but Nick? How could Nick trust her within a thirty-minute meeting. I don’t get it! All the enforcers and Nick, Derren, Taryn and Trey, we were all gathered here trying to figure out our next course of action. And let’s just say there were more fun ways to spend my night doing than planning for that. It was a nightmare, especially since we were at a stalemate. And, as if that wasn’t enough, Dante wanted to hear my take on it. I would rather so much that he had asked the head enforcer to be the tie breaker, even though I was appreciative of being given the chance, it was a hard position to be in.

“All those _‘demands’_ she made _do_ put her in a bad position. Her coming in alone and being human make it even worse for her. Which is bad, because if she is so comfortable with those odds then she has something very big under her sleeve, especially with our packs’ reputations. I would’ve said we scratch up the meeting, but we have to find whether there is a legit threat against Rhett, so I think our hands are tied here. We could disregard her demands, but I don’t think she’ll be in a cooperative mood then. So ...”, the guys watched me impressed as if they didn’t think I could have a serious thought in my head. Please, I still could wonder if she’s hot, don’t get me wrong, but I am an enforcer for fuck’s sake. I would expect them to know that protecting the pack always comes first for me.

“I have been there and I saw how surprised was her Beta by the announcement that she was coming alone. The truth is he seemed like he didn’t even want her to get involved in this, so I have to believe that for some reason the rest of her pack won’t meddle. I say we take advantage of the situation and be ready for anything. As Dominic said, we have to know if we have a threat in our hands.”, Nick agreed with me, “Besides, most of her demands sound like they would protect us if the meeting was ever overheard.”

“And that’s what’s so puzzling. Why would she even believe that it would be overheard? Maybe we could talk to Donovan about it?”, suggested Derren.

“Do you think he would give us something against his Alpha? Would you even want him to?”, Trey had a point. We couldn’t trust Donovan, but we didn’t have much information as it was.

“No, I don’t want him to go against his Alpha. But if there is a chance he can give us something, I’ll take it. What’s the worst that can happen? He tells her we don’t trust her. If she is half as good an Alpha she knows that already.”

He was right and we didn’t have a lot of options here. We knew that the conversation with Donovan wouldn’t give us many answers, but we never thought it would create more questions instead. He said that we should follow her demands, which was no surprise, but he said it was better for us if we did, which it was surprising. Then he went and created even more confusion and questions than we could possibly have imagined we would have at the end of the call. Apparently, he couldn’t tell us anything about the pack because we weren’t authorized, so him telling us would be an act of treason. Treason! Then he proceeded to give us, in a very frustrated tone, a message from his alpha, who anticipated that we might call him. It was basically along the lines of an “I’m sticking my neck out to help you here, please don’t make me kill you.” kind of message.

By the end of that call every and each one of us was confused as hell. Only one thing was certain amongst us, we were all seething at her veiled threat. But Rhett is pack and we take care of each other, so we put our questions and rage aside and started planning. Tao suggested we have Dante interrogate her, which was shot down by everyone else immediately, for various reasons. It pretty much boiled down to the facts that she was trying to warn us and we weren’t going to spit on that unless she did so first. Plus we didn’t want to sever the friendship between Donovan and Nick’s pack, given how helpful that had proven to be throughout the years. What was Tao thinking? We don’t attack unprovoked and he knows that! After a lot of careful thought we came up with a plan. We would meet her demands and we would assume that for whatever reason there was someone, who was not invited, listening in.

For that reason we agreed that almost all except Rhett and Trey we would be in wolf form. Nick and Derren would pick her up and bring her to us and Trey would follow her lead in speaking. Rhett would do so likewise. I just hope that something will come out of all this trouble. And then came the difficult task of deciding who would go with Trey and who would stay inside to protect the rest of the pack. We all came to the conclusion that Taryn, Jamie, Tao and Ryan would stay inside with the pack, and Dante, Trick, Marcus, Roni and I would meet the Alpha. Taryn wasn’t exactly happy with that, but she eventually conceded that it was best to go about it like that. Someone had to protect Kye and the pack.

And so we did. Next day we gathered nearby the gate to wait the Alpha’s arrival. We didn’t want to lead her too far into our land. Trick was at the gate and when we got Nick’s message that they were close we would shift. Out of all of us Rhett was the most relaxed. I don’t think he fully understands what is going to happen or the seriousness of the situation. What went down here had a very high chance of triggering a pack war. Still, Dante was going over the plan with him one last time.

“Alright Rhett. Remember, she’s going to come with Nick and initiate conversation. You should follow her lead and try to get as much information out of her as possible. We will be right here. If anything feels or seems wrong just give us the signal.”

“OK! Relax! Nothing wrong is going to happen. She’s not a liar nor a bad person.”

“People change Rhett.”, replied Trey. He should know. His father wasn’t a bad person either, until he became one. Rhett looked like he wanted to say more, but we had just gotten the text we were all waiting for and one by one started shifting.

The wolf didn’t care about Rhett’s friendship with the stranger walking into his territory or that the pack had expected the stranger to intrude. The wolf cared only about one thing, the pack’s safety. He tensed looking at the car bringing the intruder, and crouched low ready to attack, to protect his pack and his territory. He watched as the familiar shifters got out of the car and then he saw her. She was a threat, but her scent told a different story. When the human girl’s scent got carried over to him by the wind, he locked in on it. And it was all the wolf needed to know about her. The wolf didn’t care about anything else anymore, he only had one thing in his mind, one thing only. He tensed once again when the girl approached his Alpha and crouched lower ready to attack at the slightest provocation. He didn’t like how distrustful his alpha was towards her, and the wolf got ready to pounce his Alpha or anyone else there. They all were threats now, because the wolf cared about one thing and one thing only; protecting _her_.


	3. Fates intertwined

**/** Majken **/**

God, I don’t like it at all. I know I agreed to do this and I was fully aware of what it entailed when I agreed, but I didn’t have to like it, right? It was too late now, even if I wanted to back out, which of course I didn’t. It was the right thing to do. Most importantly it was exactly what had to be done. But it didn’t feel right, it felt, well not wrong, but not quite right either. I blamed Duke. It was his fault I was almost second-guessing myself, because for the first time ever my pack didn’t agree. Well, Duke and Donovan mostly. The others didn’t exactly know what was going on with Rhett and Carl. As they shouldn’t have. We didn’t work like that and they all knew that, from the moment they were recruited, they knew! But Duke? He didn’t like it because he couldn’t be there to protect me. He couldn’t act the way a Beta should and it drove him mad. Well, he knew he wouldn’t be a normal Beta before signing up. He knew why it had to be this way. And deep down he knows that I am right. He knows that it had to be done like that. He knows. More importantly, he understands. He understands, because he fucking helped me make up the rules on how we act. And he sure as hell agreed with it all. That’s why he sucked it up and stopped trying to talk me out of it, well, after his first couple of tries that is.

So there I was. Meeting Nick in the very same conference room for the second time in as many days. Derren was looking at me suspiciously, not liking that I changed, somewhat, their plans. But I had to let them know that my phone was bugged, and that they shouldn’t say anything at all other than the friendly small talk of friends going for a walk at this gorgeous park that they discovered recently. That was the story I was feeding Carl anyway. They didn’t like it, but they played along because they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. They should at least appreciate the heads up.

The ride to wherever the hell they were taking me was filled with awkward silences and forced conversation. I tried again and again to make pretend smalltalk for the sake of the listening ears my loving husband had on me, but only Derren tried to play along. Even then, he would only give one word answers that disabled me from continuing the conversation. These guys were too stiff. I mean I was outnumbered, didn’t know where they were taking me and had no way of knowing what I would find there. Also I was human and, per protocol, unarmed. All things considered I was at a serious disadvantage and they knew it. So, what the hell were they stiff about? They should have masked their emotions better. I know how hard it is for shifters due to their nature. I really do. All of my pack had the same problem when they started training. Unlike the shifters accompanying me, the lives of my pack depended on learning to do just that. Survival is a very strong incentive.

After what seemed like an endless drive, we found ourselves at a gate to what looked like a park or nature reserve, but judging by the guard at the gate it clearly wasn't. That's right! I was pretending to be at the park, while actually being at a place that was pretending to be a park itself. Oh, the irony! I almost wanted to laugh aloud. The car stopped almost as soon as it passed the gate. Apparently this must be the Phoenix Pack’s territory and they didn't want me to get in too far. Clever, but if I wanted to start trouble they just handed me a big gift. They should have made sure I was as far away from outside help as possible. Those guys were obviously out of their depth. I let the shifters with me get out of the car first, to let the other pack see some familiar faces and calm a bit before they saw me. When Derren and Nick saw their friends they visibly relaxed. I guess knowing they now had backup was putting them at ease. That's good! It meant they wouldn’t be as jumpy and we might manage to pull this through. I didn’t like how much it depended on civilians to do their part. It was unpredictable and they haven’t had proper training, but it is what it is. So I got out of the car and faced the pack. They all were shifted except Rhett and a guy with cool blue eyes, that I assumed was the Phoenix Alpha. Thankfully they did as I asked of them. Well, that was one thing less to worry about during the meeting. So I started babbling nonsense at how the park was beautiful, and how we should have picnics here more often. The Alpha was looking at me as if I had grown a second head right that instant. I can’t say I blame him. Then I turned and looked at Rhett and with a surprised voice I let the meeting begin.

“Is that? Reggie? Hey, how long has it been?”

“Majken? Is that you? Wow, it’s been ages. How are you doing, kit?”, good! Rhett was, at least, playing along. Not that he was pretending to be anything other than an old friend, which we were.

“Good. Guys this is Reggie, we went to college together. Reggie these are Neil and Daniel, they used to work with me.”, at that they all exchanged the customary “nice to meet you”s. While they were being “introduced” I took a better look at the wolves behind Rhett. Unsurprisingly all wolves were crouched low and ready to pounce, but there was one salt and pepper furred wolf that looked as if he was going to pounce on his Alpha instead of me. Interesting. Was it really the time and place for that wolf to challenge its alpha?

“It’s been too long Reggie! We should meet up sometime. Let me give you my number.”, and as I said that I fished into my back, took out the folder on Carl and gave it to the Phoenix Alpha, all the while talking about nonsense just to make it sound like old friends catching up. While Rhett was trying to respond to keep up the charade, the salt and pepper wolf got near me and was nudging my palm with its snout, like a dog would when it wants you to pet it. So I absentmindedly started petting him and he liked it. He really liked it. Soon enough he was rolling on the ground and exposing his belly for me to rub! I wasn’t the only one that was surprised by that. Everyone’s face around me was frozen in disbelief. He must be a very dangerous wolf to be able to get so close to an intruder without having his instinct to growl and fight taking over. I had to be ready for his snapping, but I couldn’t let the awkward pause to be recorded on tape, so I forced a smile in my voice and started talking.

“Who’s this beautiful little doggie? What’s his name?”

“A...uh...Ace.”, at that precise moment I felt a hot ripple under my palm and looked down to find a naked blonde guy staring back at me. What on earth was this? Were they complete idiots? I was here sticking my neck out for them and they were making fun of me? But, even through my anger, I couldn’t resist swiping my eyes over his form. I blame my training for forcing me to know every little detail of the environment I was in. He had a handsome face with eyes like liquid blue ice and a mouth I would love to kiss. He had broad shoulders and was packed with muscle and abs hard as still. I couldn’t remove my hands from him and show that he had thrown me out of balance, so I could still feel his muscles beneath my fingers. Well, he wasn’t the first hot guy I’d been around, but even if he was it didn’t matter. What did they expect? They would throw a naked tattooed guy and I would be so flustered I would tell them all my secrets? That’s just plain stupid. That’s what I get for trying to help them? Boy, was I pissed, but they would never know that.

“That’s a nice name. He’s quite small for his breed, isn’t he?”, mean, I know, but can you blame me? I had to lash out somehow and show them that I couldn’t be that easily manipulated. A little innocent barb wasn’t exactly uncalled for. It even was expected, if Ace’s smirk was any indication. Anyway, it was time to leave before they really did something bad.

I was about to say my goodbyes and leave, when a familiar black SUV parked outside the gate and Duke got out of the driver’s side. Well, I only knew it was Duke, because I had seen him dressed like that enough times to recognise him, though none of his features were easily discerned. I don’t think that even Nick or Derren, who met Duke before, would be able to recognise him. Apparently there was a crisis and we were needed. Everyone tensed at the intrusion and started growling. Ace, he actually pushed me behind him! His posture and body language clearly stated that he was protecting me! As if I needed him to protect me from my own pack. I hastily said that I had to get back to work and that Rhett and I should keep in touch and started for the gate. When I went to pass by him, Ace pushed me back behind him and growled warningly, while keeping the back of his arm diagonally across my torso. I didn’t have time for this and even if I did, I couldn’t explain anything because my cell phone was still with me. So I went for the best option available, I took my mini taser out of my jeans’ pocket and tasered him. He would be unconscious for barely half a minute, but it was time enough for me to reach the gate. The guard guessed that I wanted to get out and thankfully let me through without stalling me.

Finally I was within reach of Duke and, after touching my wrist to his, I got into the passenger seat and made sure the only thing my cell would be transmitting were car noises. In the back seat were Ro, my head enforcer and a lion shifter, and Lex, a wolf like Duke. I gave them my wrist to which they both touched theirs and when the white light was emitted from all four of our tattoos Duke started debriefing me on the mission, while he drove off. A group of SEALS were trapped in a country where on record they never set foot on, so they were sending in a team that has never existed, us, to extract them. We were expected to be in the air immediately and we should be hitting ground just as our night cover of a black sky would take hold. For some inexplicable reason, during the flight, my thoughts kept drifting away from the mission to a certain blonde shifter they had no business drifting to.


	4. Dom's Plan

**/** Dominic **/**

She left me. She knocked me out and ran away with that guy. All my wolf wanted to do was to chase behind her, find her and show her that she’s ours. Of course it wasn’t as easy as that. Even if I tried to go after her, I would never be able to find her. As it was, I was locked into Trey’s office with Trey, Taryn and Dante. They were livid, demanding what was it that I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking much, but my wolf was going crazy with the need to put his scent on her. What was I supposed to do? After all that time watching everyone around me finding their mate, I finally found mine and I couldn’t even talk to her! I could barely control my wolf.

“What the fuck were you doing out there?”, demanded Trey. Taryn was rubbing his arm trying to calm him down. It didn’t seem to have any helpful effect whatsoever. I tried to answer his question as calmly as I could, which wasn’t much considering the barrage of emotions attacking me. Did he really need an answer, though? Wasn’t it obvious what had happened? Maybe he didn’t want to believe it? God knows it would have been easier for everyone in the pack, if it wasn’t true.

“She’s my true mate Trey! My. Mate. And she was in my fucking territory. And I was threatened because my fucking packmates were ready to pounce on her if she even did so much as breathe wrong. What would you have had me do?”

“Fuck! You know she’s married, right? That most likely she’s married to the Alpha of her pack?”, I couldn’t help the growl that escaped me at his words. Of course I noticed, but it didn’t really matter.

“She’s my mate!”. It was as simple as that.

“Alright honey, try to calm down. We’ll figure it out.”, as much as I wanted to believe Taryn, I couldn’t. I couldn’t calm down and plot how we would go about protecting Rhett, when my mate was somewhere unknown and possibly in even more danger. The guys after Rhett would come after him only in an attempt to get to her. She told us so! There wasn’t much I could do now, though. So I tried to calm down enough to listen to the information she gave us. With any luck there would be something there that would let me find and kill the bastards after her.

Trey had invited the rest of the enforcers, Nick and Derren in, and they all started getting in cautiously. Everyone tensed as soon as they picked up my mood and gave me a wide berth. Some even threw me questioning looks, but turned away at my answering scowl. I didn’t have time to worry about their feelings and try to reassure them. I didn’t even want to be here, I couldn’t make myself want to stay no matter how hard I tried. All I needed to do was to get out here and find her. I had to find her! Nick was the first to demand what’s going on and what happened out there. I couldn’t help but growl again, not liking neither his tone nor the look he sent me.

“I found my mate. Can we get to the ‘ _important_ ’ stuff?”

“Oh honey, this is the important stuff! Your mate obviously didn’t recognise you and … well … she might be trying to play the pack.”, there was a rumbling noise that drowned out everything else. It took my Alpha and Beta pushing Taryn defensively behind them and Trey’s order to stop, for me to realize that the noise was me growling. I hadn’t even registered that I was trembling from my anger and hurt. If she hadn’t recognised me, then it was more important than ever that I find her. I tried to take some calming breaths. They didn’t calm me much, but at least I wasn’t shaking any more.

“I can’t! I can’t be here right now, I have to calm down.”, I stood up to leave. Trey gave me a nod in understanding, a gesture that Tao had apparently missed. He stood and blocked my way so that I couldn’t leave, spouting some bullshit that I was an enforcer and that my priority was to protect the pack, so I was gonna sit back down and help them figure out the info my little girlfriend gave us. Was this gyu nuts? Did he want me to kill him?

“Tao back off.”, thankfully Trey ordered him out of my way before I lost the last sliver of patience I had and tore his throat out. It wouldn’t do much good if we had a duel to deal with on top of everything else.

“I’ll come with you to make sure the rest of the pack won’t bother you.”

“Jamie! You will n…”

“Oh come on Dante, his wolf won’t see me as a threat. Besides he needs a friend right now.”, I didn’t want to admit it, but maybe Jamie was right. Maybe I did need a friend to help me calm down and process everything that went on, but maybe I didn’t. Either way I had more important things to figure out, like what I was going to do about my mate.

I got out of there and headed outside as fast as I could. Only then did I slow down enough for Jamie to catch up with me. The fresh air helped my wolf a bit and before we knew it I had lead us to the place of the meeting. I couldn’t help it, I kept breathing in her fading scent. The fact that not only did she leave, but that she left with that guy drove me insane. I was fighting a losing battle trying to calm my wolf. Even worse, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to calm down. If I calmed down I couldn’t focus on my anger anymore. I would have to face the facts and, if I was being completely honest with myself, I was terrified of the reality of those facts.

“Fuck me”, I grunted while kicking at a small rock on the ground.

“Nah, I have Dante for that.”, I smiled a bit at that, some of the tension already seeping out of me. I did need a friend afterall. I went and sat at the base of a tree facing the gate. Jamie plopped down beside me.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I exhaled a long tired sigh while pondering the question. I didn’t want to talk about it exactly, but I really needed to get it out of me. As if expelling my thoughts would give me any clue on where she might be or who that bastard that took her with him was. I have to snap out of it!

“What am I supposed to do Jamie? I can’t just let her go!”

“But…?”

“Well, what if she wants me to? What if she ends up hating me for trying to claim her?”

“I don’t know Dom. I was sure that I didn't want to find my mate that I would get him killed. Look at me and Dante now. Maybe you should meet her and you know try to see how happy she is. Maybe that’s why she left, maybe Taryn was wrong.”

“Huh?”

“She said that your mate didn’t recognise you. What if she did and as the strong alpha female that she is, she needs you to give chase? You see there's a whole sea of what ifs for you to drown in.”

“Maybe you are right and she wants the chase, maybe you aren’t. Either way I have to go _talk_ with her. Let's see if Nick can be obliging for once.”


	5. Precipice of Anticipation

**/** Dominic **/**

“Identification and purpose.”, demanded the guard at the gate. How did they manage to get armed guards at the gates without having the humans killing them in the courts? We told him we were here to meet with Donovan, which didn't matter apparently. The guard even seemed like he was uncomfortable that we would tell him what we were doing here, as if he was never told what the visitors would do or didn’t think he should be.

“I just need your visitor’s passes.”

Our what? What was going on with this pack? Nick was as confused as I was. Nonetheless, he explained to the guard that when he came mere days ago he didn’t require any pass to get in. Again the guard seemed like he didn't want to know about any previous meetings.

“I can’t allow you in without a pass.”

“What? Nick, call Donovan and sort this out?”

Donovan picked up at the first ring.

“Hey Nick! What’s going on?”

“There is this guard at your territory's gate that won’t let me in without a pass.”

“At the gate? What are you doing there?”

“We need to talk Don. It can’t wait another week.”

“Hold on I’ll be there in a moment.”

We couldn’t do much other than wait for Donovan. He got here and when I thought things couldn’t get more weird he ordered the guard to stand down, but didn’t let us in. On the contrary he led us away from the gate and demanded what we wanted.

“Your alpha is his mate.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s the last thing she needed right now!”, he gave a frustrated sigh, “Oh, stop growling at me Dominic, it was just the truth! You were right Nick, we do need to talk and figure this out.”

I am not an idiot, I know that our being mates complicates things, but I can't pretend like I never wanted to meet her. However, if I wanted to talk to her today, I would follow Donovan inside his territory and try to be the calmest person I could ever be. We managed to get to the gate, where the guard not only did let us in, as expected, but also saluted Donovan. I really did need to find out what was going on here.

We followed Donovan into a lobby of sorts where there was a receptionist sitting. It was another young human, just like their guard was. So far I’ve seen more humans in this pack than shifters. Then Donovan demanded a conference room that had precedent with Nick, so that it could have classified rank, whatever that meant. What the hell was my mate involved into? Obviously I wasn’t the only one having such questions and as soon as we got into the conference room Nick voiced his.

“What’s wrong with your pack Don?”

“What do you mean? She told you we are a bit unconventional, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but man! You have an armed human guarding your gate and need your visitors to have security passes.”

“Protocol’s protocol. You have your rules over your pack, she has hers.”

“Wha…”

“Leave it Nick. We have more important things to discuss.”

Of course there were more important things to be discussed, but not with Donovan.

“Where is she. I need to talk to her.”

“She’s not here. She will meet you guys next week as promised.”

I knew she left a contact number to coordinate our efforts of protecting Rhett, but when called it was answered by Donovan, not her. He said she will be unavailable for the rest of the week and she will meet with us next week. The rest of the details were agreed upon by Trey, but I didn’t listen. Whatever they were I will be there too, don’t get me wrong, but I couldn’t wait for a whole fucking week to clear things out with her. When one week of waiting turned to two, I convinced Nick to take me to her territory. And now that I am here she isn’t?

“As you can understand Donovan I can’t wait a week to get introduced with my mate.”

“She’s out of the country with an undetermined date of return and that’s all I’m allowed to tell you. You have to find a way to wait, alright?”

At least he was careful on how his tone was, it wouldn’t end well if he antagonised me right now, not with my wolf growling and snapping at me to find her. Although it didn’t change the fact that my mate was in danger and nowhere to be found and I had to let her know who she was to me. Once again I was left with no choice in the matter but sit around and wait. I hated that there was nothing I could do, that I was so useless, unable to help or talk to my mate even just to let her know that she is my mate. I never thought that when meeting my mate I would be so powerless to act. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement.

Donovan was about to tell me something. I supposed it might have something to do with her, but I didn’t get to find out what he wanted to say because just then there was a loud electronic noise and a red light started blinking. He instead got up and told us we had to leave the room. We didn’t even manage to stand up before the door was urgently opened and in walked Majken. Tall, black haired, beautiful, stinking of blood and gunfire and flanked by two soldiers Majken. I stopped dead in my tracks. She didn’t even give me the chance to even say hi. She barely even threw me a glance before ordering us out.

Not wanting to make things worse with us I followed Donovan out of the room. We ended up in a sort of coffee room, like those small ones you see in the corners in office buildings. I poured myself some coffee, just for the sake of doing something. Can’t say it tasted good, but it was hot and fresh and I don’t think I would’ve drunk more even if it was the best blend I’d ever tasted. Sitting at a nearby table, Donovan had visibly paled and looked like he’d seen a ghost. I hadn’t even noticed before Nick asked him about it.

“What’s going on Donovan? You look like you’ve seen a dead man walking.”

“Huh, maybe ‘cause I am?”, he said under his breath, so low we almost didn’t catch it.

“What’s that mean Donovan? What’s going on?”, said Nick in a very irritated voice. Donovan just shrugged and looked away. Obviously he didn’t want to talk about it, but we were at the end of our patience. We needed answers!

“Come on man, what’s going on?”

“She'll come as soon as she's done and Dominic here will get to talk to her. Can't you guys just wait for her to come and leave me be?”

I was the one who was being kept away from my mate, why was he the irritated one? Forced once again to stay and wait. Pretending she doesn’t even recognise me. How much more could she poke at my wolf before he snapped? Before I snapped? Treating me so indifferently. She ran away and I gave chase. What did she expect? And now I was stuck here again, in the same position, waiting for her. Hoping she’ll come to talk, that she won’t bail on me again, that I might get to see her. Hoping, because there was nothing else left for me to do, because there was nothing I could do without risking losing her, because she took control of the board and I have no moves left.

I heard her approaching before I saw her. She had her hair braided up and was wearing some kind of black tactical uniform and combat boots. She walked with determination and purpose and her emerald eyes were hard like stones. She had the sleeves rolled up and there was a tattoo evident on the inside of her right wrist. It was identical to the one Donovan had on his wrist. She was calmly walking towards us holding a knife and having an expression of hard ice on her face. She had the look of a predator ready to make the kill and she was locked on Donovan.


	6. Mates!

> Journeys end in lovers meeting  
> \- William Shakespeare

**/** Majken **/**

This couldn’t be happening! I never thought I would be the one to kill Donovan! Yet here I was, marching towards the break room trying for the life of me to find a reason for Donovan meeting Nick that would not translate to treason. I would have to go in there and if his tattoo glowed anything but white… I didn’t even want to think about it! I would still do it, though. It didn’t matter how I felt about Donovan, whether I cared about him or whether I considered him a friend, because in the end our feelings didn’t matter, our lives didn’t matter, we as individuals didn’t matter. Treason was treason,and it was punishable by death. It was my job and my duty as the leader of this team to mete out the punishment. Donovan knew this, he understood. So what on earth was so important that it would have him skirt the edge on the lines of treason? No matter what now it fell to me to do make sure he was punished accordingly, were he guilty of course.

So I blanched out any thoughts or feelings I may have had and relaxed my grip on the handle of the knife I was holding. You can’t stab people with a stiff hold and if I wanted to have any livable chance against a shifter my movements would have to be as fluid and precise as possible. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, I had to see the color the tattoo would glow. I stood in front of Donovan, extended my right arm wrist up and looked him straight in the eye. An emptiness came up to meet me, as if he had resigned himself to dying, as if he was already dead. At least there was no hint of hurt or animosity in that look. No matter what the tattoo showed he understood where I was coming from, which was as much a relief as it was a curse. He touched his wrist to mine and the tattoo glowed white. White! What a relief! I exhaled the breath that I was holding and drew him in a tight hug.

“Thank God Don! I thought I was gonna have to...and so close to Lex almost d…”

“I know, I know”

I let go of Donovan and turned to our _‘guests’_. “Didn’t they set up a meeting Donovan?”

“Yes ma’am, they did. But, Dominic had to talk to you and couldn’t wait.”, at that I turned a questioning look at the guy. He was the wolf I’d petted when I met with the Phoenix Pack. What was so important that couldn’t wait? It had to be important for Donovan to let them in. But nothing was more important than the pack, unless ... no no no No NO! No matter how much I didn’t want it to happen I couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.

“We are mates.”

“Donovan escort Alpha Axton out of our territory and then update Duke about the situation. We will discuss your actions when I return.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Come on Ace, we have to talk.”

I led Dominic out of the back of the building to a little garden. From the outside you could have never guessed that it was the headquarters of a military operative team. We went through and entered the parking lot. I offered to give him a ride to his pack. We could talk on the road. We wouldn’t be disturbed or overheard and, to be honest, driving would calm me down, give me something else to focus on. Mates. I didn’t know what to say, how to respond to that. If I’m being honest with myself, I was terrified of what it could mean for me, him, for both of us!

“So, um ... you believe we are we mates?”

“I know we are! I’m Dominic by the way.”

“I'm Majken. Nice to formally meet you. So you wanted to talk?”

“Yes! I wanted to tell you that we are mates, see what we were going to do about it, but I have to admit I didn’t expect you to be so indifferent about it.”

“What did you expect exactly? That I would run to your arms and we would mate on the spot?! Are you even aware that I am married?”

“Βut we are mates!”

“I’m the Alpha of a pack you can never join!”

“Still, we are mates!”

“Your pack distrusts me at best and hates me at worst.”

“You are my mate!”, he repeated softly, pleadingly.

“You keep saying that as if it changes anything!”

“It changes everything.”, he said with a heated intensity in his voice. It’s true I guess, it changed everything for him, but for me? It only served as another problem, another thing to put the mission at risk.

“No it doesn’t. Really! Do you even understand what you are asking of me?! If you would let go of your mating haze even just for a moment you would see that I’m right.”

“I know that us being mates doesn’t magically solve anything. I just … I've been wanting my whole life to find my mate. It's a gift that not everyone gets to have. You must know what it means for a shifter? Why I don’t want to let go? Why I can’t even if I wanted to?”, he let a frustrated grunt-like noise escape him. He was so emotional and confused. He thought I was being difficult on purpose. He might even believe that I was playing some dominant female chase-me bullshit. I weren’t.

“Look I get it, kinda. I mean, I can’t possibly feel the pull of the wolf or whatever finding your mate does to you physically or emotionally, but I understand where you are coming from. But please try to see it from my place. You are asking me to get into a lifelong commitment with a stranger that doesn’t even know or care about me.”

“I do care!”, there he goes using that intense voice again. Sadly he doesn’t even realise what I’m talking about.

“No, you don’t. You care about your mate but not about me as a person. If I were a girly girl or a tomboy or a pageant queen or even a thief it wouldn’t matter as long as I was your mate. Don’t you see? With your sense of smell I must practically reek of blood and gunpowder, yet because I’m not in any immediate physical danger you didn’t even think to ask how I am doing. Yes, eventually you could care about me as a person other than your mate, but in most cases when people mate on the moment they realize they are mates just because of that, they don’t usually have a nice life together. You sure know such couples, couples that ended up hating each other and leading miserable lives.”

“I get what you’re saying. At least I'm trying to. I can’t even begin to understand how this feels for you. To thing that someone’s interest in you, _my_ interest in you is purely circumstantial. Mating should complete you, create a bond between two people that love each other like no-one else could. You deserve such a mating, we both do! What’s more we could have it. What if we tried to take it slow? Date at first, get to know each other? Start a step at a time and take it from there?”

“I could do that, but I need to know that you’d let me go if we don’t fit, if in getting to know each other we find out that we really don’t like who we are.”, I was pushing it, I know! But I had to leave a back door unlocked. I just had to. He didn’t like it though. I could see the torment and conflict in his eyes and the pain that his mate could even suggest such a thing. But I couldn’t do it otherwise, he was already asking for too much and he knew it. So he grudgingly agreed.

We were almost at the gate of his pack now. You could see it in his posture, he was more confident, more predatory and it was evident that he didn’t want our time together to end so soon. I stopped the car before the gate. The guard was the same one as the last time I visited. I hugged Dominic goodbye, an act which no doubt helped settle his wolf a little, as it put his scent on me. A temporary claim if it could be considered one. I left before he even reached the gate.

I took advantage of the drive back to clear my head. I let my thoughts be drowned out by the song of the car’s engine, I got lost in the feeling of the car’s purring around me and I solely concentrated on driving. In that moment there was only me and my car and the road ahead. Nothing else in the universe existed. There were no demanding mates, no team to be responsible for, no war on terrorism and definitely no spying husbands. Even if it were just for a moment, I could stop thinking about responsibilities and plans and the reality of my life and just be.


	7. Maybe?

> The very essence of romance is uncertainty.  
>  **  
> \- Oscar Wilde**

**/** Dominic **/**

It was the calmest my wolf has felt in days! It was just a hug, a brief one even. But her scent was on me, mine on her. A claim, no matter how temporary it was, was enough for now. As soon as I got out of her car she pulled away. And I was left there staring at her shrinking tail lights being filled with awe. Not because of the beautiful car, or that she could leave without a glance, but because, even though she was scared and confused and angry about our being mates, she hugged me. She hugged me to calm my wolf and relieve my strained nerves. She somehow managed to put aside her feelings about us and be considerate, when I weren’t.

“Wow Dom, who was that?”, said Trick, coming over from the gate. There was a huge smile on his face as if he just saw his favourite toy in his toybox. I on the other hand, couldn’t appreciate his enthusiasm towards my mate.

“My mate.”, I managed to spit out. It was more a growl than speech, but he got the message loud and clear.

“Easy now there. I couldn’t even see the driver. I was just admiring the car.”

“The car?”, I said incredulously.

“Yes! Man, your mate sure does know her cars! That’s a bugatti chiron! As in, you know, the expensive as hell supercar! I’ve never seen one up close before. She’s even more beautiful in real life than in photos!”

“Alright, stop drooling over my mate’s car.”, I said, calmed once again now that things were cleared.

“I can't! Did you not hear? It's one of the fastest cars in the world! Didn't you hear the engine sing?”

“Alright! Alright! Man, you are in love with that car! Anyway, I have to find Trey.”

I didn't really want to talk to Trey at the moment, but he had questions about her pack and territory. I let him know about the guards and the humans and her not saying anything about Rhett. On my way out I run into Taryn, who demanded to know why wasn't I mated yet! Why couldn't they leave me alone? I get it, my mating or lack of could potentially be the cause of a pack war, but I just needed to take care of her. She needed time and to take things slow between us so that's what I was going to give her.

Later that day both Shaya and Jamie decided I needed some friendly advice. I was sitting by the lake watching the wind ripple the water when they found me. They just wanted to see how I was doing. That's what they said, but I suspected they also wanted to see what was going on with Majken. I didn't feel like talking at the moment, but I knew that they could help me figure things out.

“She wants to take it slow, to date.”

“But what about the mating pull and what it'll do to you?”, asked Jamie in a very careful tone.

“She let me make a temporary claim. A very temporary one, but it seems she is willing to make some allowances for my wolf and his mating urges.”

“At least that's something! But how long do you think you're going to be able to get by with only that? I know first hand that after a while it gets really hard.”

I could see the pain in Saya’s eyes at the memory of those days when Nick had been rejecting her. She knew better than anyone how bad it felt. How torturous it could be. But Majken hadn't actually rejected me. She just wanted some time to get to know me, to get used to us. I could give her that. I said as much to them. For a very brief moment I would swear they swooned. It must have been a trick of the light or something though.

“Look Dominic, I know how easy it is to lose sight of yourself when thinking about your mate. But if I learned one thing from my mating to Dante, it's that you can't let that happen or you'll end up hurting you both. I'm not saying you shouldn’t give her some time, just that you shouldn't give her so much that you end up hating her for it.”

“And having Trey and Taryn pressuring me about it, isn't exactly helping things.”

“Nor the whole possibility of a pack war I guess.”

“Thanks Jamie! I wasn't trying to forget about it or anything! I just want to make sure she is happy.”

”But what if she won’t be happy with you?”, asked Jamie in a sad tone.

There was the true problem. My alphas wanted the assurance my mating would bring, which unfortunately meant that they were pressuring me to mate her almost as much as my wolf. But if I tried to force the process and didn't give her enough time, the time she so clearly needed, she would most likely hate me forever. And as if all that weren't enough she was married, and even though she had agreed to dating and be open to the possibility of us, it was just as likely that she would decide to stay with him. Isn't that why she’d asked for the way out? God, did it really have to be this complicated?! Could she really be happier without me? Even though, I was her mate?


	8. The Strongest of Souls

> Out of suffering, emerges the strongest of souls.  
>  **\- WoW Death Knights**

**/** Majken **/**

It was finally done! After days of long legal negotiations and court meetings I was finally divorced. It had nothing to do with me finding my mate. The divorce was filed long before that, but at least it came with good timing for Dominic. It's the only reason I agreed to the dating in the first place. He didn't know it though, and he never even asked about how me dating him could lead to me cheating on my husband. His lack of interest in the matter just went to show how far into his mating urges he was. At least I hoped so, otherwise it said something about his character that I wasn't entirely comfortable with. Either way I was going to see him tomorrow at the meeting and they are all bound to notice that I won't be wearing my wedding ring. What did I say? Yeah, great timing for him and the worst for me! Apparently I’m using all my luck on avoiding death and there isn't any left for my love life. Not that it's something to complain about! I'd rather be alive than dead with a great husband.

However there were more pressing matters to worry about. Like the fact that my extremist ass of an ex-husband had just found out I’ve been donating money to a charity that helps shifters. He was certainly going to get me back for what I'd done to him, as if me donating to charities had anything to do with him! It was just a matter of when and how he was going to strike. Unfortunately I was right! I had just finished eating dinner when I got a text from him. Apparently I'd _‘forgotten’_ some stuff over at the house and he wanted me to go get them tonight. Yeah right! I know for a fact that I didn't forget anything there and combined with his being so specific about when I am to pick them up, he was definitely up to something. Problem is he's a civilian and I can't reveal my part in the panthers to him, so I'm going to walk right into his trap and pretend that I never saw it coming. He'll probably just have some of his buddies over so they could rough me up, scare me into not helping shifters anymore. That’s their M.O. I could handle that.

I drove up to the house and there were a lot more cars parked there than normal. Well. Here goes nothing. I knocked on the door and he answered immediately. I got in and it felt kind of weird. It used to be our home and I hadn't been there ever since we filed for divorce. Normally I would try to hide the emotions bombarding me, but since it would help me project the innocent girl that didn't know what was going on persona, I let them show on my face. Unsurprisingly he locked the door behind me. That’s when all his pretense dropped. Gone was the mask of civil politeness he wore when greeting me at the door. He had an intimidating look on his face. Well, kind of. I’d seen so much death and destruction to be intimidated by a mean face. Still warning bells started going off in my head! That was a face intent on violence, on making it hurt. And even though I could have easily escaped at that moment, I didn’t. I pretended to be confused and let myself fall completely into his trap and hope that I might be able to gain some control somehow. What else was I supposed to do? I can’t break cover, especially since Carl’s little group is a suspected mark.

”Carl? What’s going on?”, I asked in a deliberately small voice.

He didn’t even bother to answer my question. Why would he? In his eyes I was nothing more than a traitor to humanity and what I had to say didn’t matter anymore. I saw him move and it was obvious he was going to punch me. It took all my self-control to suppress my instincts and, instead of countering it, to actually let him strike me. I felt his fist connect to my left cheekbone, right beneath the outer corner of my eye. I felt the pain bloom on my face, while I staggered backwards from the impact. He quickly followed with another punch to the gut that had me doubling over. He shoved his hand in my hair and dragged me to the basement. It was obvious he was getting started and he had company to help him. I could count around twenty men down there. And they all wanted to have there time to play. He threw me on the floor and they all quickly closed in around me. This was the point of no return. This was the point that I lost control and handed it over to them. And now I was kneeling on the floor surrounded by an angry mob out for my blood. It was time for Carl to make his gloating speech.

“You fucking shifter whore! You thought you could turn your back on your own kind without facing the consequences? I should kill you myself for what you did! But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t ever try to help them animals again.”, he spat with unveiled hatred burning in his eyes. It was hard to believe that I was ever married to the thing staring back at me. Such hatred, such loathing, such rage. And all because I donated to a charity!

“Please Carl. You don’t have to do this, please. Carl, please...”, I tried to beg as convincingly as possible. It weren’t in my nature to beg. What I really wanted to say? Fuck you, fuck your small-mindedness and fuck your self-righteous bullshit. But poking the bear would only get me killed and I would like to avoid that today if possible. He laughed at my pleas. Such a sick, perverted laughter that I wouldn’t forget soon.

I tried to stand up, but they didn’t let me. With a punch to my temple that clearly said they wanted me on the floor, they started their assault. I got punched and kicked and kneed all over. My torso got the brunt of it. I would grunt and scream in pain, but soon realized that it only spurred them on. I tried to beg for them to stop, it didn’t go well either. Inevitably, I felt a heavy boot kick at my side, accompanied by the sickeningly painful snap of bones. I howled and writhed in pain as I tried to get to grips with my ribs breaking. They didn’t even let me catch my breath before kicking me again and again, each kick punctuated with another crack. Another bone broken, another wave of agony rushing over me. With every hit they got more and more excited. With every hit it became harder to breathe, to keep up.

Eventually they stopped hitting me. I was almost ready to give up my consciousness when they stopped. It was enough of a change to bring my awareness back to focus. One of them, with a very menacingly excited glint in his pale blue eyes, drew my head up by the hair and forced a cloth in my mouth and around my head as a gag. Then, they started getting my clothes off me and the full reality of what they were going to do hit me. I screamed and pushed them away, but it was a losing fight. All that would accomplish was painfully drain energy that I couldn’t afford to lose. So I stopped fighting them and I let them undress me and have their way with my body.

One by one my clothes were discarded to the floor, my t-shirt, my shoes, my jeans, my socks, my bra, my panties. Before long I was completely naked except for the gag and their bruises covering my skin. They positioned me so that I was kneeling with my legs spread on the hard concrete floor. They were snickering, groping my breasts, my ass, saying what an easy whore I was, letting them do that, willingly spreading my legs for them. One of them started pulling at my nipples hard, while another one punched me between the legs. I think one of them bit my shoulder and the nipple guy started sucking on my nipples. He bit them hard and then kept on pulling and twisting them. One said they should scratch me too, make it look like I was raped by the animals I loved so much. They laughed at that. Soon they weren’t satisfied with just biting and groping and digging their nails into my flesh. I felt the first one with a jolt bringing me back into focus. I felt his dick hard and long enter me sharp and fast. He didn’t give me time to adjust he just kept moving in and out, in and out. Telling me what a slut I were, how my cunt was sucking his cock in like the desperate little whore that it was. How I was nothing but their fucktoy, a hole to empty their balls into. He kept on fucking me, in and out, in and out, in and out, until eventually he jerked and shoved as deep as he could and sprayed his cum all inside me. Then the next one took his place, and then the next. And then another one joined him shoving something in my ass to stretch it out before putting his dick in. And they kept assaulting me in both holes, one after the other. Filling me with their cum. And all the while I was focusing on them. I memorized every detail of their faces. I focused and memorized each and every face of each and everyone there and kept thinking of how I would bring their whole organisation down.

They had their turn again and again, filling my ass and pussy with their cocks and cum. Kept fucking in and out of me. Kept shoving their dicks in me for hours. Again and again, until they got bored or couldn’t get their dicks hard anymore. I don’t know which and I don’t much care. All I cared about was that I was there, lying on the basement floor, discarded like a used condom, legs spread open, a pool of their cum pouring out of my abused gaping holes, breathing hard through the cloth gag and waiting to see what their next move would be. I was wishing with all my heart that I wouldn't die like that, with my holes full of cum. Carl turned me on my back and crouched on top of me. With a smile filled with malice, he used a hunting knife to make a deep cut on my lower belly, right above my right hip. He then stood up, threw my stuff on my and ordered me to get out of his house. I didn’t need to be told twice and, even though being thrown out of my former home was a big blow to my pride, I struggled painfully to my feet, put on my battered clothes and left. I got into my car and kept driving around until I was sure they weren’t following me. Then I went home.

As soon as I got home, I stumbled my way to the bathroom were I promptly threw up in the toilet bowl. It hurt like hell, but I just was grateful that I hadn’t vomited in front of them. As soon as my stomach was settled I took a shower to clean myself up, get rid of the blood and sweat and their cum. I wouldn’t be taking a rape kit anyway. With so many samples contaminating each other, the results would be inconclusive at best. Beside, I was going to get them on their other crimes, the ones that paled before my rape, that were punishable by much worse than a couple of life sentences.


	9. Can I give up yet?

> Tired, tired with nothing, tired with everything, tired with the world’s weight he had never chosen to bear.  
>  **\- F. Scott Fitzgerald**

**/** Majken **/**

I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have walked into my ex’s trap and I shouldn't have gone to meet with the Phoenix Pack the very next morning. But as we've established I've done a lot of things that I shouldn't have ever since I met Dominic. Maybe it was because I was acting out against finding out I had a mate or maybe I was just emotional because this problem had personally to do with me. Even if it didn’t have to do with me exactly, I made it personal last night when I walked into that trap. Either way I should have paused, taken a deep breath and a step back. Objectivity and cold detachment. All things I needed, all things I didn't have. Immeasurable pain and irritated sleep deprivation? Now that I had in spades. But that's what I get for being stubborn and not letting my pack in to help. I am trying to protect them though. What on earth should I have done?! Told them come fight in a fight you don't belong? They are part of too many fights as it is! Regardless, if the suspected ties between Carl’s group and the Seventh Army are confirmed they’ll be obliged to fight this fight as well. And wouldn’t it be great if I got to have Carl in my interrogation room with the orders of finding the Army’s position no matter the cost? Yeah, not personal at all!

Reigning in my thoughts and doubts, I got out of the car and entered the diner. I went upstairs to the private meeting rooms and opened the door. It was a nice little room, with warm toned walls and lots of sunlight coming through the windows. There were some chairs around a rectangular table. Trey and Taryn sat at one side of the table facing the door. Standing behind them were Dominic and Dante and Jamie, according to my intel at least that’s who they were.

As soon as I entered the room I felt Dominic’s intense stare on me. I get it! He is anxious about seeing me, his wolf is riding him hard and his instincts and culture basically have forced him in a stage of needing to mate me as soon as possible, consequences be damned. But I just went through hell, I can't even breathe without risking fainting from the pain, and I really could use a break from all that. Is that really so much to ask? Having to hide how much I needed to lie down and fall in a comma for a week, I approached the chair on the opposite side of the table from Trey and sat down carefully., slowly as to not jar my broken bones. I could see them watching me speculatively. I guess it was good that my trembling hands were out of their sight beneath the table, or they might know exactly how vulnerable I could be at that moment.

“I don't have much time, so let's not dance around things just for diplomacy’s sake. Just tell me what you want to know and I'll try to answer as best as I can.”, and with as little words as possible, considering how painful it actually was to talk, “Unless there’s been a move against your packs?”

“The Mercury betas are on their way. We'll wait for them before we start.”

Great! Wasting time I couldn't afford to waste! But it was a solid strategy, I'll give them that. Having people come in after me, boxing me in, making sure I didn't have backup with me without actively showing it. Any other day I would have appreciated their strategic planning, assuming it was actually planned, and all that it implied about how powerful a foe they thought I could be. At that moment though, I just wanted to get it over with, so that I could go home and crash for a while. See? A mistake on my part for going there with that mindset. I was there though. I'd gotten on the dance floor and now I had to dance or get pushed out.

“I’ll take that as a no. Good. Let's start with your concerns for now. When they do get here, we'll talk about theirs.”

“We are waiting.” Ooh, the Alpha wants to play the dominance game. Too bad I have no patience for games today, no matter how fun they could be.

“You want information I have. You are only getting it on my terms. I did my part, I warned you about Rhett. I didn’t have to do anything more and I certainly don’t have to be here. So you either start talking about why you brought me here or I walk.”

“Really? How?”, he said menacingly. The implied threat didn't escape me and on today of all days I wouldn't be able to fight back. So much drama with this pack. I didn't need that kind of worry right now.

“Fuck it, I don't need this shit. Wanna know how? Just like that.”, I said getting up and walking towards the door, with my back at them. “Do me a favor and lose my number, will ya?!”, I threw at them over my shoulder as I moved towards the door.

I heard them moving around telling me to wait. Normally I would stop, maybe turn around and stand there expectantly, since I got my way and all that, but not today. I had to stay in motion or it would be too obvious how hard I had to fight to be standing up. I felt someone taking hold of my upper arm. Not restraining, but lightly stopping me from leaving. I turned around to see that it was Dominic. I was somewhat relieved it was him, I knew he wouldn't hurt me, not physically at least. But at the same time I didn't want him to be the one trying to stop me from leaving, because if push came to shove he would literally be between me and his pack. I would never want to make him choose between me and his pack like that. That's one of the cruelest things I could ever do a shifter. He didn’t seem to deserve that kind of treatment.

“Come on Majken, they already backed off, you don't have to try and make them beg as well.”, he said with an obvious strain in his voice. I can't say I can't sympathise, but I honestly wasn't try to make them beg for it. I just was too tired to play games. It was just as I said, I’d thrown them a bone, I didn’t have to help them eat it too!

“I'm not!! I just can't deal with Alpha male bullshit posturing at the moment. I took time I don't have to come here and be threatened by people I'm helping out when I really don't have to.”

“Hon you are shaking. Calm down and we can all help each other. Just ignore Trey’s temper.”, that was Taryn trying to smooth things over. At this point I would either back down just because I had to sit or fall over or storm out of there and loose them and all they may eventually bring to the table for me. I wasn’t so mad as to start shaking from anger, but thank the heavens they thought so. It helped support my bluff and save some face.

So we started the exchange. They wanted to know who Carl was, why he would be after Rhett. I had to explain that he was after me and any shifter I ever associated with, that he considered my interacting with them a blow against him personally and he was going to rectify that by eliminating the offensive part of the relationship. Quite frankly it started to feel a bit repetitive. I told them who Rhett was in danger from, even gave them a full report file so they'd know what they were up against and what to look for! I told them what to do in case of seeing him or any of his pals, which is they'd contact me. Still they wanted more! What more could I do?! I even offered taking Rhett under my, and my pack’s, protection for fuck’s sake!

“Why's this Carl guy so worked up about you being around shifters. Extremists don't usually take it this personally when they see humans with us!”, said Dominic barely controlling his rage. His wolf must be going postal at this new information about the threat against me. And he asked the question that would make things even more complicated between us.

“Well...maybe it has something to do with the fact that up until yesterday I was married to the guy?”

Dominic was full out growling and trembling with … rage? Pain? Judging by his expression probably both. It took both his Alpha and Beta to hold him back until he calmed down enough. He really went out of control, as if he didn't know I was married. As if he had the right to an overreaction. As if he had the right to make it all about him! I was the one trying to balance my personal and professional lives, while they were set on colliding in a nuclear explosion. I was the one being forced to keep up with the needs of a mate I could never ever have. It was my pack that was risking its lives and I was responsible to make sure they weren’t forfeit. These shifters in front of me were anxious and demanding on the possibility of an extremist wanting to kill one of their own. I had to make sure that the very same extremist group they felt so threatened about weren’t working with the terrorists of the Seventh Army to bring the whole country down in flames. Even if we were comparing responsibilities and worries, I would still have them beat. So why did they get to be the frustrated, offended ones? Why did they get to overreact and growl and hiss at every single thing they heard and didn’t like? If anything they should be thankful that I even warned them about Rhett, considering it was more than the average civilian got in such situations. Yeah, I was too tired and emotional for their dramatic overreactions today.


	10. D Square

> I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time.  
>  **\- George R. R. Martin**

**/** Dominic **/**

It just all were too much for me or my wolf to take in. She being so near yet so detached, my own Alpha driving her away, her flinch when I touched her arm, the masked pain in her eyes, her being in danger. And then talking about her husband. The man she trusted enough, loved enough to want to spend her life with. It were all just too much. His being an extremist, was just the cherry on top. She was alright with jumping into a marriage with an extremist, but she couldn’t even acknowledge her own mate?! I almost lost it. How much could a man take? I could tell that she wasn't impressed by my display of emotions, though. I get it I'm being a bit overbearing, but couldn't she at least try to understand where I'm coming from? She's the Alpha of a pack for crying out loud! Eventually I managed to calm down enough to get back to the meeting. If she was finally answering some questions, then I sure as hell was going to ask mine.

“Why would your ex-husband be hunting you and every shifter you ever had contact with?”

“Really?! I mean I divorced the guy. Why wouldn't he be out for revenge?”

She was hiding something. Before I had a chance to ask more the door opened and in walked Derren and Ally. Majken turned in her seat to see who it was and surprised us all when she greeted Ally.

“Ally?! _You_ are the Mercury Beta?! I thought you were still with the Redwood Pack.”

“Majken?! It's been ages!”, replied Ally and went to hug Majken. I’m not really sure what happened then. Majken leaned back out of Ally’s reach, recoiling as if Ally had the plague and demanding she not touch her. In doing so she hit her ribs on the edge of the table and doubled over in pain. She was moaning, hissing in pain and taking shallow breaths. Derren had to physically keep Ally away from my mate, who was painfully trying to control her breathing without much success. If Trey and Dante weren’t obstructing my way, I would already be by her side comforting her.

The door was left open and through it came a man running. We all tensed but he just looked at Derren and demanded what did we do to her. We were all ready to pounce on him, when Derren started telling us he’s her Beta again and again until we relaxed our postures enough. Derren closed the door while my mate’s Beta leaned in front of her. She extended her right hand to him and he touched his wrist to hers. Only then did she let him tend to her. He soothingly moved his hands up and down her upper arms while he instructed she breath in and out, until she calmed enough to be able to talk. I understand that she was hurt and needed her pack, but I couldn’t help being irritated at seeing him touch her in such a familiar way.

“How many have you broken?”, he demanded in a gentle voice.

“From the feel of it probably all. Most of them were already broken before I got here anyway. And I'm gonna fucking need stitches though.”

“What did they do?”, he said looking around at us. It was very obvious that when he said they he meant us.

“Nothing. Carl just found out about my donations to ‘Pack Life’. Just get the first aid kit from my bag ok?”

While her Beta was getting the kit she turned to me. “Dominic I need you to focus OK? You have to stay calm and let Duke do his work, do you understand? I need you to do this for me, no matter how bad it looks. Will you please do this for me?”, she said in a pleading yet strong voice, belying her status as Alpha.

Shit! How badly was she hurt, if she was worried I was going to go postal at the look of it? Dante and Trey moved closer to me letting me know that they supported me as well as not letting me go near her. She kept looking at me until I conceded with a nod. By that time Duke had gone through her bag and found the kit. When he opened it, it was obvious it wasn't an ordinary first aid kit. It had way more stuff in it. Needles and syringes and powders and bandages and devices.

“Duke, I'm going to need the rest of the ANL, if you’re stitching me up. It's going to give me about thirty minutes before I crash. Plenty of time to talk.”

“Please tell me that you had more time before you broke your ribs!”

“Of course I had more time! Most of them were already broken anyway.”, she exclaimed with a huff, as if it was obvious.

He pulled out what looked like an epi-pen from the kit and gave her the shot, after he adjusted the dosage. He, then, helped her take off her shirt. That's when I realized why she gave me the lecture before. I don't know how she was able to come here with injuries like that and I really didn't want to think about how she got them. She had bruises. A lot of them. They were so many and so close to each other that they formed a huge dark bruise that covered her whole torso. Even what was visible of her breasts around her sports bra was bruised. That's not even the worst of it. As if the bruises and the broken ribs weren't enough she looked like she came out of a mating gone wrong. She was littered with cuts, scratches and bite marks. Human bite marks! I was so mad I think my wolf started showing through my eyes. I could tell by their stance that my pack was mad as well. Then Duke moved to the side enough for us to see a huge deep cut on the lower right side of her abdomen. It was barely held together with butterfly band-aids that had obviously been too little for the job. We were all staring baffled at what possessed her to just slap on a band-aid and think the wound tended to. She noticed we were staring.

“What?! Do you know how hard it is to stitch yourself with broken ribs? Besides it’s a clean cut, it’ll heal anyway.”

As if she would have just stitched it herself, if her ribs weren’t broken! Before we could respond, that she should have gone to a healer or even a hospital, Duke started talking.

“So what can you tell me?”, he said in a cool, detached voice. Who were these people?!

She looked up at me and told me that maybe I would want to wait outside. As if I could've left when she was there in that condition!

“Well, just try to stay calm, alright?”, she responded and then turned back to Duke and started explaining what happened, “So you know how they work, especially after their … uh … possible new _alliances_ were formed. Carl really couldn't take it that not only did I left him but I was also supporting shifter friendly charities. So the idiot made up a botched up farce of an excuse for me having to go at our old place last night. He had his friends waiting. So obvious! I mean how couldn't I know if I'd left anything behind you know?”

“But you never break cover.”, said her Beta in a matter of fact kind of way, that stated that it was something they often told in their pack. What did it mean, though? That’s what I wanted to know. What was the cover and how exactly would she have broken it? Was I seeing the cover too?

“Exactly! So, I walked right into it.”

Duke had finished stitching her up and helped her put her shirt back on. Then, he handed her some wipes, with a muttered “The cat’s already out of the bag. Besides you know you don't want to be wearing all that makeup when you crash.” She shot him a look that I couldn't read before starting to wipe her makeup off and continuing with her story. What I saw when she removed it had me seeing red. She had a black eye, a swollen bruise right on her cheekbone and chafed lip corners. The bastards gagged her! Several small yellow and grey bruises were scattered across the rest of her face and her lower lip was split in the middle. But hearing her description of what they'd done to her, had me and my wolf out for their blood, even though it obviously was the edited version.

“He was of course waiting with his ‘friends’ to beat some sense into me.”

“What did they do?”, demanded Duke right as I was about to demand the same.

“The basics, you know, beat and rape me into submission, teach me what happens to traitors. You know how the story goes, their M.O. We see it all the time. The idiots even thought that if I had bites and scratches on me the police would think shifters did it. As if I couldn't have gone to a shifter pack to take care of me since I was so in league with them!”, how could she talk about being raped so lightly?! As nothing of importance happened, as if it didn't happen to her at all!

“So how many were there?”

“I … um … didn't count?”

Something in the way she said it made it sound like she knew exactly how many there were. Maybe she didn't want us to know. It didn’t matter really. All that mattered to me at the moment was taking care of her and killing every single one of the bastards that had dared touch her.


	11. What are you hiding?

> Something’s not quite right...  
>  **\- The Nightborne**

**/** Dominic **/**

When she said she was going to crash, I thought she meant it figuratively, like being too tired or drowsy, something similar to long sleep deprivation. But she started trembling violently for a few seconds and then fainted. I jumped over the table and was by her side immediately. I laid her down on the floor mindful of her ribs. I took off my jacket and used it as a pillow for her head. I was gently stroking some hair out of her face when Duke approached slowly. I tensed, my wolf raising his hackles at the intruder daring approach my mate and me.

“You are her mate right?”, I didn't even turn to look at him, just nodded yes, “I have to take her back to her place so that she can rest and be tended to properly. I can take you with us if you want.”

How could I disagree with that? Even if I would rather take her to my territory, where I knew she would be safe, I couldn't deny her the comfort of her territory, the support of her own pack. But Ally disagreed. She said we must heal her, but it didn't sound like just a polite order.

“Why? What did you see?”, I asked, hoping with all my being that she weren't dying in my arms as we were speaking.

“If we don't heal her she’ll die Dom.”, she said apologetically.

“No! We can't heal her!”, said Duke firmly. We had to explain that Ally was a seer for him to even start considering healing her. What was wrong with the guy? Did he want his Alpha to die? He was obviously conflicted and I was getting annoyed with his no healing attitude, until I realised that it were her orders. She didn't want to be healed, but she were also unconscious, lying on the floor dying, so she didn't have much say in the matter. I’d rather she was alive and not talking to me than dead.

“Alright! Elle come in here, we need your help.”, who the hell was Duke talking to? As soon as he spoke a lithe African American lion shifter walked in. I growled in her direction while the rest of my pack formed a shield in front of me, blocking her. What were the lions doing here? What did they want?

“Relax! She's part of our pack!”

“She's a lion!”, I angrily pointed out! What were they playing at? And exactly how many members of her pack were hidden around the building?

“And you are a wolf! Your point being?”

“Back off Elle, he's her mate!”, ordered Duke.

It was decided that Taryn, Ally and the lion would all heal Majken, so that they wouldn't overtax themselves. Taryn was to go first and Ally last. We all gasped in horror when Taryn started her process and every single inch of my mate’s body was brightly glowing. Even her hair took a luminous glow. No wonder Ally saw her dying. When the lion was done with her turn she demanded from Duke just how much ANL did she take.

“All of it.”

“The full dose?! She's gonna kill us when she wakes up!”

Ally was done with her turn, but Majken was still unconscious. Apparently, as the lion grudgingly explained, this ANL thing she took meant it would take a few minutes before she woke up. She took a few moments before she started stirring. I felt her coming back to consciousness, even though her eyes were closed. She first moved her fingers and then her arm before finally opening her eyes. I smiled at her, but she looked at me as if she didn't know me at all. She punched me hard on the jaw before jumping up and pulling a pair of chinese fans out of her boots. Yes fans! Weird looking ones, with blades at the edge of each panel! Fans that she wielded as a weapon. She took a fighting stance that had her left arm extended, fan pointed at me and her right bend above her head like a scorpion tail ready to strike with the fan it was holding. I stayed still and watched as recognition slowly creeped back into her eyes. She gradually relaxed her stance, folded the fans and sunk to the floor. Duke and the lion were laughing their asses off for some reason.

“You brought the fans?! Really?! My God did you see the looks on their faces? Priceless!”

She wasn't amused, she was furious and trembling. Her muscles were twitching with exhaustion. She couldn't even support herself enough to be sitting up and I was barely quick enough to get there before she fell to the floor. I sat behind her so that her back was lying on my chest, her head supported by my shoulder. Did they not heal her enough? Taryn asked the same thing of the lion.

“She's fully healed! It's just the ANL combined with the speedy recovery. Human bodies can’t take that much change in such little time and have trouble bouncing back, that's why we never heal a human with ANL in them.”

“Yet you healed me! So why did you fucking give the order Duke?”, she may be physically exhausted, but boy did she sound furious.

“The seer said you were going to die otherwise.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah! Now you know you should rest…”

“Oh I know!”, she said with a weak attempt at a smirk and then turned to Trey, “It was nice talking to you guys, but I'm not going to be available unless you actually have a move against you to report or otherwise absolutely need to contact me. I'm sure you understand.”

She weakly got up and stayed in place for a few moments to get used to her bearings. It was obvious she was dizzy and that it took a lot of concentration and effort on her part to just stay on her feet. I couldn't let her go, not when she was like that. I looked at Trey who gave me a nod understanding what I needed to do. I announced I was going with them and, when she didn't contradict the statement, I put a hand around her waist and helped her follow Duke to the parking lot. Duke gave the lion his car keys and took Majken’s out of her bag, that he was carrying. I helped her get in the backseat and got in after her. I sat close to her, holding her close and having her rest her head on my shoulder. In her exhausted condition she seemed to accept the intimacy.

After an awkwardly silent drive, we arrived to a skyrise building in the city center. She had the two top floors to herself in the form of a single two-floor apartment. It was spacious and modern styled, with clean edges and dark colors. It was kind of homey and cozy but in a harshly strict kind of way. I don't even know how she managed to pull that off! Black and cool tones were dominant, although there was the occasional splash of color or silver shine. It was definitely her personal space, but it was obvious it wasn't pack territory.

“Why didn't you take her to pack territory?”, I demanded of Duke furiously.

“He can't take me to HQ. Not like this.”, she said tiredly. What the fuck was wrong with these people?! How could they live in a disjointed pack like what their pack seems to be?!

But the important thing now was taking care of her. So I asked Duke what I needed to be cautious for and tried to make her as comfortable as she could be. Duke left, knowing that I wouldn't let him help me anyway. I carried her upstairs to her bed and helped her change into some pajamas. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. According to her Beta, she would be sleeping for a very long time, like more-than-a-whole-day long, and I had to keep an eye on her in case she seized.

So I was left with nothing else to do than watch over her and think. I sat there in the silence, watching her lying still and thought. I thought about the events of the last week. I thought about what a wanted to do, needed to do. I weren’t fooling myself into thinking that I loved her. I barely even knew her. Watching her lie there, still and serene, it became apparent how little I knew about her. She was the Alpha of a Pack, had married an extremist that may be a threat to my pack and was projecting a cover. Basically we didn’t know who she was and, as much as it pained me, we couldn’t be sure if we could trust her. _I_ wasn’t sure I could trust her and she was my mate! Through all the mystery and questions and ifs and maybes surrounding her, one thing was glaringly obvious; she may have a pack, but at the moment she was completely alone.


	12. Something to Know

> I'll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours  
>  **\- Bob Dylan**

**/** Majken **/**

I woke up groggy as hell. It felt like I had been sleeping for ages, but at the same time I was also exhausted. I was wearing pajamas and lying in my bed. The blinds were drawn in such a way that they only let a small band of sunlight in. I'd just sat up in the bed when Dominic walked into the bedroom. He was obviously worried and had black circles under his eyes. He gave me a small relieved smile when he saw that I was awake.

“Good morning! How are you feeling?”, he asked in a voice drowned in concern.

“I’m okay. What time is it?”

“Uh around 10:30 I think? You've been asleep since yesterday around noon.”

“I figured it'd be somewhere as long as that. Hm, I um … I think I'm gonna have a bath if you don't mind?”, in other words, please give me space.

“Oh um ... I'll be downstairs if you need anything.”, yeah message received.

I nodded and he left the room. That was awkward as hell. His instincts took over yesterday. I’m not saying he's cold enough a person to not help someone who fainted right in front of him, but I also know that he wouldn't be as intimately caring as he was yesterday. Holding me close, protectively, but also a bit possessive. Just like any alpha male taking care of his mate and I had let him! Mainly because I needed it, but also because I was too exhausted to care to think about the consequences. I was vulnerable enough to not think things through. And there was the biggest problem. I had inadvertently let him a little bit in, but he was only taking care of his mate. Not me me, just his mate me. And, even though I wasn't attached emotionally to him, it still somehow hurt knowing that.

I had to stop thinking about all that and clear my head. So I took a deep breath and got in the shower trying to think about trivial little things like the new uniforms we were getting tomorrow, that always look like the old ones, or the lyrics to a song or how sunny it was for an overcast day. The shower felt so nice and relaxing. I put on a pair of dark grey yoga pants and an oversized short-sleeved t-shirt that left one shoulder exposed and which I tied in a knot on one side of the hem. When I was done dressing up, I took a deep breath and went downstairs. I found Dominic in the kitchen trying to set up some breakfast. Thankfully he hadn't done much yet! It would be even more awkward if I were to find a full on breakfast feast to only turn it down in favor of my smoothie routine.

“Um, Dominic? I'm not usually eating breakfast before my daily work out. I'll just have a smoothie. Do you want one too?”, I offered as naturally as possible.

“Shouldn't you be taking it easy today and resting?Trying to recuperate?”, concern evident in his voice.

“Nah, the sooner I get back to my routine the better. I could use a sparring partner if you are interested?”, we could both let out some steam and crack the awkwardness ice a bit with a few well placed kicks.

I gave him some of Duke's stuff that he'd left over for emergencies, which he wasn't too happy about, and then we went to the gym portion of my place. He was good! Not as good as any of us, but good enough. His moves weren’t sloppy or unfocused, but they were obvious at times and therefore ineffective. He was depending on his wolf’s strength and dominance to give him the upperhand. All shifters did, but it couldn’t be the only thing you depended on giving you the edge. Especially when your opponent weren't as attuned to the dominant vibes game as a shifter usually is. But he was a decent sparring partner and it was a nice workout session. It helped clear the tension between us a bit. At least the awkwardness had dissipated somewhat.

“So you are one of the enforcers, huh?”, I asked while we were doing some cooling off stretches.

“Yup!”

“It’s a tough job, how do you find the time to hold a paying one?”

“That’s my job. The pack takes care of its own, you know that, you’re the Alpha afterall!”, was that exasperation I detected?

“But what if you switch packs? What happens to you then?”

“You can’t protect a pack while wasting half your time on another job! Isn’t it the same with your pack?”

“No, we don’t function like that.”

“So, what’s your job? Aside from being the alpha, I mean.”, only if he knew!

“I’m in the army. And I would appreciate if you wouldn’t ask me more about it, I’m not at liberty to discuss what I do with civilians.”

“Okay...”, he fell silent for a bit, no doubt thinking about what I had just told him. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to demand of him and I was already asking for too much. Mates don't usually take it slow, don't ever even think of the possibility of not ending up together and usually never keep secrets. I didn't do it to hurt him, but I _was_ pushing him, hard.

“So, what part of what you told me is part of your cover?”, he asked cautiously.

What a loaded question! Surprisingly it was for once easy to answer; I hadn’t shown him a cover. Which I told him so, even though I chose to omit the part where I didn’t show him all my motives either. Mostly because I couldn’t tell him that I was part of an elite task force, that said task force was composed by my pack, nor that I was kind of using my very loose ties to his pack to get evidence that the extremists were consorting with terrorist, just so that I could do my job and finally catch them.

“But you wouldn’t tell me even if you were projecting a cover at me, right?”, he said dejectedly.

“No, I wouldn’t. I know it's hard not to, but please don't take it personally.”

“And that drug they gave you, it's a military drug, isn't it?”

“Yup, kind of like artificial adrenaline. Helps with extending your limits a bit. Demands a hell of a price, but gets the job done.”, at least I gave him all the info I could. I didn't want him to feel like I weren't open to sharing information.

“And the job at hand was letting a bunch of bastards beat and rape you?”, he demanded with an angrily disbelieving growl in his voice. Was that hurt hidden behind his anger?

“Please, don't go there.”, seeing the look he gave me I quickly added the rest of my argument in an attempt to stop him. “Was it something that I wanted to do? Hell no! Will it mess with me? Most likely! But rest assured that I would never would have put myself through anything if I didn't believe it absolutely necessary.”

“But...”, why couldn't he just drop it? I just couldn't talk about it. Not at the moment.

“Please drop it! I'm tired and I have a lot to do. I appreciate your concern and indignation over their treatment of me, but the things are as they are and we can't change the facts just because we don't like them. Don't take it as me throwing you out, but I have to get ready for work.”, I, of course, _was_ throwing him out, but he wasn't giving me a choice. I hadn't even sorted my feelings about what happened yet, how could I deal with his?

“Oh, okay. I'll … um … get going.”, he awkwardly said before visibly forcing himself to leave. I, too, would find it difficult to leave if I were him. But, as I told him, some things can't change no matter how much we wish them to. Facts are facts for a reason. The simple truth is I had to deal with it myself, before I dealt about it with him. I just hoped that the brief glimpse I gave him of who I am wouldn't end up hurting me in the end, because, somehow, I was starting to like what he was showing me. But I didn't even want to think about that!


	13. The Unexpected

> Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple  
>  **\- Dr. Seuss**

**/** Dominic **/**

She opened up a bit! The door was cracked open and I managed to get it shoved closed in my face. She just wanted us to get to know each other a bit, and I just couldn’t play along. I had to mention what they did to her, because I couldn't pretend nothing happened, I couldn't ignore it. On hindsight maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. It was too soon and she was too close to it and not close enough to me, I realised with disappointment. I hadn’t thought about it, because for me she’s my mate and that was enough to open up, but, as she told me multiple times, we didn’t really know each other. How could she talk about something that was so raw and personal to me? My own mate couldn’t open up to me!

Dejected and deflated and a bit angry, I called Dante to pick me up. He gave me my space and didn’t pester me with questions, which was for the best considering my mood. I was just itching for a fight. It had been a difficult couple days. I was so excited to get to see her again, even a bit nervous, thinking I could get closer. Then I had to see her injured and abused, literary being at the door of death. When she was healed, I was relieved for the briefest of moments, before finding out that she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Even after all that, I got a moment of peace with her, she was alright, we even talked a bit, but what little headway I’d managed to make with her was wiped away when I pushed her too far. I just wanted her to lower down the wall just enough to let me get a peek in. It didn’t matter. She can just keep pushing me away, I’m not giving up on her so easily.

Dante gave me as much space as possible, but there were things we needed to discuss. When we were about half an hour from our territory, he started speaking. He let me know that despite both his and Trey’s orders to let it go, Tao kept bitching about how at a time like this all the enforcers should have been in the territory, protecting the pack. Being left behind for the meeting and replaced by me had obviously not been something he liked. I had always considered Tao a friend, but also someone who, even though a bit rough around the edges, would leave personal agendas out of the way for the good of his pack. He was the Head Enforcer, he should know better, but ever since Taryn came in our pack, he had gotten a taste of rebellion that he was beginning to like more and more. First he tried to steal with Taryn, then tried to run off Jamie. Now he was even going to whine and bitch, just because he didn't like my mate? It’s not like I forced him to be best friends with her!

“It's unlike him to be acting so selfish Dom and I get that you're not exactly having the easiest of times right now, but could you please try to ignore him and let Trey and me deal with it?”, Dante must have read my thoughts.

“Alright! But if he gets in my face about it, I can't promise to be able to hold back.”, I was barely hanging on as it was and my emotions and thoughts were all over the place.

“I know Dom. When he wanted to drive out Jamie I was having daily fantasies of strangling him and I hadn't even recognised her as my mate yet! So believe me when I say I get it. Just try to ignore him and let us deal with him, for the sake of the pack.”

“I said I would! I just can't understand how anyone with a soul would hold it against me for needing to care for my mate, who I'd just seen at the brink of death.”, I exclaimed exasperated. It was still hard for me to believe how nonchalant she had been about her injuries, about her way too possible demise.

“We thought best to respect your privacy and didn't go into detail about the kind of injuries she had suffered. Most of the guys easily deduced how a bunch of a extremists would treat a woman they thought of as a traitor to humanity, but Tao seems a little thick headed at the moment. Just try to not kill him! That's all I'm saying.”

“I said I’d try!”, did he really have to repeat that?

“Alright! I’m sorry, just wanted to make sure. Also, Trey wants to talk to you.”, he said while we were entering through the gate. Just what I needed, my Alpha lecturing me about my mate, again.

But still, my alpha wanted to talk to me. So I took a deep breath, got out of the car and went straight to his office. He was sitting there with Taryn, obviously waiting for me. As soon as I got in Taryn asked how Majken was doing. Her concern for my mate was reassuring, kind of. They hadn't asked me here just to ask after Majken’s health.

“Dominic, how much do you trust Majken’s intentions towards our pack?”, was Trey trying to sound gentle?!

“She's his mate Trey! What do you think are the chances of him distrusting her?”, replied Taryn exasperated.

“I really don't know how to answer. She is my mate, but, as she has been constantly reminding me, we don't exactly know each other now, do we? What I can say is that she seems to be keen enough to help us with this supposed threat. She is definitely not letting us in on the whole truth, but it doesn't seem like she's lying either.”, I admitted uncomfortably.

“So you agree that we need to keep a closer eye on her? To change the fact that we are in the dark until she calls for us?”, asked Trey.

“Yes, but don't ask me to spy on her for you. This I can't, I **won't** do!”

“That's not where I was getting at. Who in their right mind would expect you to betray your mate’s trust?”, replied Trey afronted.

“Then what _are_ you trying to say?”

“I think it’s best if she comes to stay here, in our territory.”

“Trey?”, I asked baffled and apprehensive, not understanding what he meant. An Alpha from another pack moving in with our pack? As much as I wanted her closer, I still could see how much of a bad idea it was.

“Don’t tell me that you don’t want her close.”, was he trying to sound persuasive? He never does, he doesn't need to!

“But she’s an Alpha! You know why two alphas can’t stay in the same pack!”, what is he thinking?

“I’m not inducting her into our pack! We get to keep an eye on her, not let her keep us out of the loop, and you, _you_ get to spend some time with your mate!”

I was tempted, so, so tempted! I loved the idea of seeing her regularly, of her being close, in my territory. It didn't mean it was a good idea, though. But, of course, it wasn’t my decision. It wasn't even my decision whether she was made the offer or not. If they wanted to invite her they would. I weren’t the alpha, not even the beta. And it was up to her whether she accepted or declined. So, with so little say in the matter as what I got, why were they trying to convince me? A sentiment that I didn’t hesitate to express.

“Why are you trying to get me to agree? We all know that it's not my decision to make anyway!”

“We are your alphas Dom, not some dictators ruling over you.”, said Taryn softly.

“I didn't mean it like that...”, I replied immediately. I'd never mean it like that!

“Look we want you to be at least accepting of the idea Dom. You are still one of us, you are pack.”, said Trey in words that were uncharacteristically emotional of him.

“But that's not all, is it? You want something more of me.”

“We want you to take the offer to her.”, yeah that sounded more like the Trey we all knew and kinda loved.

“Why?”, I asked suspiciously even though I already knew the answer. I was the only one in the pack with access to her. She would more easily accept to meet with me than anyone else from the pack, not that I had any contact info for her.

**/** Majken **/**

It was too much of a coincidence to be believable, yet it couldn't be anything but a coincidence. What other reason would Carl’s right hand man have to move in the apartment below me, if not a twisted play of the universe? Coincidence or not, one thing was for sure; I couldn’t stay, too much of a chance of running into him. I was irritated. He was in my building, right beneath my home, and I had to ignore it, play nice, leave. What else could I do? I’m not a vigilante, I act within the law, a broader expanse of it maybe, but still. So I took a deep breath, focused my thoughts and called Duke in to discuss our strategy.

What else was there to do while I was waiting ,but pack? So I started with my clothes trying to focus on the menial task and forget my anger. Before long I could hear him at my door. Problem was he weren’t alone, Dominic was with him. He was popping up everywhere lately! Couldn’t he fucking give it a rest for a little while?! It’s barely been a day since he was here!

“When have you ever needed to bring company in my house Duke?”, I chose to say velvety, without speaking to Dominic yet. I wanted to see how he would react, I wanted him to realise he couldn't just pop in here whenever.

“Tell that to your puppy over there! I found him at the entrance trying to get in. From what I gather you wouldn't want him to have a run in with your neighbors.”, leave it up to Duke to turn the other cheek and still be punching back.

Dominic was surprisingly silent from the moment he came in. He didn't even react to Duke's dig. As if that weren't enough, he could barely look me in the eye. It was worrying. My alpha male of a mate was being eerily subdued. They usually weren't acting like this even when they were trying to apologise. This only begged the question; what had he done? I had never wished he bared the onyx tattoo more than that moment. At least with the tattoo I would have known if he'd betrayed me!

“Well, since you both are here, you can both help me pack.”, I said as normally as I could, while internally I was wound up.waiting for Dominic's bomb to explode.

“You are leaving?!”, exclaimed Dominic with a hint of relief. Why was _he relieved?_

_  
_

“Dude she's your mate! You don't have to sound so happy about her leaving!”

“Thanks Duke, but we have things to do.”, I said leading them to my room, where I was packing my stuff. “You're on weapons. Ace you're with me on electronics. If it's electronic and looks like it could gather dust, you put a dust cover on to protect it. And while you're doing that you might even try to tell me what had you at my door so soon.”

Dominic didn't even react to the order. Just grunted in affirmation and started dust proofing my PC monitor. My stare enforced the order in my words and it became apparent that he didn't enjoy having to say what he was about to.

“My Alpha sent me to extend an invitation on his behalf, but seeing as you're leaving you won't be able to accept anyway, so it's moot.”, whatever it was his Alpha was inviting me to, it was obvious he hated it.

“I'd still like to hear it Ace.”, I tried to sound calm, reassuring. I really did. In the end it came out sounding pushy.

“He wanted to invite you to stay in our territory until this extremist situation was over. To make communication more efficient.”

“Not to mention keeping an eye on me, forcing me to keep him in the loop and add the protection of my pack to yours. It's a good plan!”

“But you are leaving so...”

“Don't worry. I accept your Alpha's invitation on some conditions, of course, which I will be discussing with him as soon as I'm packed. They're nothing he would object to.”

As soon as I accepted Dominic's face fell. He really didn't want me to move to his territory, which was very uncharacteristic of one's unbounded mate. But then it hit me. Dominic's problem was that he thought that because my mate was asking I was forced into accepting the invitation and two Alphas in the same space would be tough. Duke wasn't happy about it either, but he saw the strategic advantages for us as clear as I did, so he didn't even try to protest.

“Your Alpha is clever, making an invitation like that. Not to mention sending you to increase the chances of me actually being willing to listen. Stop worrying Ace! It works out for me too, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted, no matter who was asking.”

So we packed up everything. I made sure nothing inside my home would get damaged in case of a long absence and then we went to my garage. One of the perks of this particular penthouse was that it came with its own floor of personal garage accessible only by me. What can I say, I love my cars! But today, it doubled as a space that was inaccessible by Carl's _friend_.


End file.
